Last night, at the first of two Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 25th Anniversary concerts at Madison Square Garden in New York, my mind was blown with seeing some amazing artists performing some amazing duets. Tonight, my head exploded! Because there is so much to absorb, please settle for an abbreviated review and a few pictures.

Over the course of a much shorter show (4 hours instead of 6), history was made again. Tom Hanks introduced the show and first act Jerry Lee Lewis (who sang Great Balls of Fire). Aretha Franklin then took the stage and sang New York, New York plus Respect and then was joined on stage by Annie Lennox for Chain of Fools. Lenny Kravitz then joined for Think. Jeff Beck played some killer guitar next and was joined on stage by Sting and Billy Gibbons from ZZ Top. Beck finished off his set with an amazing instrumental version of A Day In The Life by The Beatles. Metallica went on next and they were joined by Lou Reed (for Sweet Jane and White Light/White Heat); Ozzy Ozbourne for Paranoid and Ray Davies of the Kinks for You Really Got Me and All Day and All of the Night. Before exiting, a killer rendition of Queen’s Stone Cold Crazy and Metallica’s own Enter Sandman was played. Finally, U2 took the stage and played Vertigo, Beautiful Day before being joined by the biggest surprises of the night – Bruce Springsteen (for I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For). Patti Smith, Bruce Springsteen and U2 played Because The Night, but did several takes to get the lyrics right. The Black Eyed Peas joined next for a medley of Mysterious Ways and Where is The Love. The Peas exited the stage but Fergie stayed and started singing the opening bars to Gimmie Shelter, the Rolling Stones classic. All of a sudden, Mick Jagger emerged to sing the song! They also did U2’s Stuck in a Moment You Can’t Get Out Of. It was a night of magic!

UPDATE: Here’s the set list:

Jerry Lee Lewis:
Great Balls of Fire

Aretha Franklin:
Baby, I Love You
Don’t Play That Song
Make Them Hear You

Aretha Franklin and Annie Lennox:
Chain of Fools

Aretha Franklin:
New York, New York

Aretha Franklin and Lenny Kravitz:
Think

Aretha Franklin:
Respect

Jeff Beck:
Drown in My Own Tears

Jeff Beck and Sting:
People Get Ready

Jeff Beck:
Freeway Boogie
Cause We’ve Ended as Lovers

Buddy Guy with Jeff Beck:
Let Me Love You

Jeff Beck:
Big Block
Rice Pudding

Billy Gibbons and Jeff Beck:
Rough Boy

Jeff Beck and Billy Gibbons:
Foxy Lady

Jeff Beck:
A Day in the Life

Metallica:
For Whom the Bell Tolls
One
Turn the Page

Metallica and Lou Reed:
Sweet Jane
White Light/ White Heat

Metallica and Ozzy Osbourne:
Iron Man
Paranoid

Metallica and Ray Davies:
You Really Got Me
All Day and All of the Night

Metallica:
Stone Cold Crazy
Enter Sandman

U2
Vertigo
Magnificent

U2, Bruce Springsteen and Patti Smith with Roy Bittan:
Because the Night

U2 and Bruce Springsteen with Roy Bittan:
I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For

U2 and Black Eyed Peas:
Mysterious Ways/Where Is the Love/One

U2, Mick Jagger, Fergie and Will.i.am:
Gimme Shelter

U2 and Mick Jagger:
Stuck in a Moment You Can’t Get Out Of

U2:
Beautiful Day

A severely edited version of the show will air on HBO in November, but for now, some pictures after the jump.

What can you say about a 6 hour concert where you see Jerry Lee Lewis (performing Great Balls of Fire), Crosby Stills and Nash (perform with Bonnie Raitt, Jackson Browne and James Taylor), Simon and Garfunkel (performing You Can Call Me Al, Bridge over Troubled Water, Cecilia, Mrs. Robinson, The Sounds of Silence and also performing with David Crosby and Graham Nash), Stevie Wonder (performing Signed Sealed Delivered I’m Yours, Higher Ground, Living for the City before being joined on stage by Smokey Robinson – performing Tracks of My Tears, and with Sting – performing Roxanne, and also solo performing Michael Jackson’s The Way You Make Me Feel – getting so choked up, the entire Madison Square Garden was crying), BB King (performing The Thrill is Gone) and Bruce Springsteen (performing w/ Sam Moore singing Soul Man, Darlene Love singing Da Do Run Run, with John Fogarty singing Pretty Woman and Proud Mary and with Tom Morello of Rage Against The Machine performing The Clash’s London Calling, plus solo doing The Ghost of Tom Joad)? INSANELY HISTORIC NIGHT!

Here’s a few pix to whet your appetite until next month when a highlights show of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s 25th anniversary is aired on HBO. After the jump.

Posted by The G on October 29, 2009 under G Reviews | Comments are off for this article

Baja Fresh located at 1441 Broadway. Now open!

Good news for California transplants (like myself) in New York. Baja Fresh has opened two locations in Manhattan. The first is located at 465 Lexington Avenue (Between 45th and 46th) and the other is located at 1441 Broadway (Between 40th and 41st).

If you don’t know their menu, they have delicious healthier and fastish Mexican food than most places. The New York branches are a bit more expensive than their California locations, but the food is great and worth every penny.

After getting back from seeing This is It, it seems there are many more questions than answers on the tragic story of Michael Jackson. The footage culled from the performances leading up to the shows that never were show Michael Jackson not as a drug addict, but a musical perfectionist trying to put on the greatest show ever known to man. He appeared happy and in good spirits in every scene. On top of that, he appeared to be a truly nice person. You would almost never know this was the same person who was taking near lethal doses of anesthetics regularly. In one scene, when the levels in his ear monitors were not right, rather than snap into a diva tantrum, he told the people to fix the problem and then said “I love you” to them for helping to get it right.

Vocally, Michael Jackson sounded great on ballads such as “Human Nature,” and on every song, he danced his ass off. His voice sounded pretty shot in numbers such as “Wanna Be Startin’ Something” and “Beat It,” but it’s undeniable, the man could still dance. The moves were as fresh as they were in the 80s and 90s. It’s hard to believe that hours after some of the footage in the movie, Michael Jackson would be dead.

Knowing that he would die, the movie gives you that feeling you had when you first heard the news. I sat through the movie thinking that he is still very much alive. If you are a Michael Jackson fan, this movie is a great document of the final performances of a true legend.